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体面 (tǐ miàn) — (noun) dignity; face; prestige (social standing); (adjective) presentable; respectable; decent

Definition

体面 covers both 'dignity/face' (noun) and 'decent/presentable' (adjective), often about appearance or conduct. Unlike 尊严 (inherent human dignity) or 面子 (social face), it stresses being respectable in how one looks or behaves.

noun
dignityfaceprestige (social standing)
adjective
presentablerespectabledecent

Examples

  • 体面。
    Tā jīn tiān chuān dé shí fēn tǐ miàn.
    She is dressed very presentably today.
  • 体面，。
    Wèi le gōng sī de tǐ miàn, tā shén me dōu méi shuō.
    For the sake of the company's dignity, he didn't say anything.
  • 体面。
    Tā zài zhòng rén miàn qián biǎo xiàn dé fēi cháng tǐ miàn.
    He behaved very decently in front of everyone.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

体tǐdignity; appearance
面miànface; appearance

体 and 面 both concern appearance and dignity, so together they mean presentable or respectable.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 體; 体 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
骨骨gǔbone
Sound part声符shēngfú
豊
豊lǐ體tǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 體 pairs 骨 (bone) with 豊 as a sound part; this note is about 體, not about the parts of 体.

Open 体 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

面 originally drew a man’s face, with one eye exaggerated; the horizontal stroke was added later.

Open 面 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Appearance

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